May 17, 2015
MC RJ packing the floor!!! #H2H3.0 #SoldOutWeekend
seen from Australia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from Italy
seen from Sweden
seen from Finland
seen from Italy
seen from Italy
seen from United States
seen from Sweden
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from Finland
seen from China
seen from Finland
seen from Finland
seen from Australia
seen from United States
MC RJ packing the floor!!! #H2H3.0 #SoldOutWeekend
Have you filled out our supporter survey yet? It’s quick, easy, and it helps us plan future events, build rocking new campaigns, and decide how we’re going to grow.
So please take a few minutes to fill it out and consider the thank you screen at the end a virtual hug from us to you.
P.S. Thanks for all you do to help us conquer the world one random act of kindness at a time. You are amazing.
So Soon
Tis after midnight, so I can therefore say that 2 weeks from today, I'll be back in Fort Lauderdale, and in 15 days, back in Jacmel, Haiti. I'm still processing everything that has changed since going there with Random Acts in June. I met people who have become like family to me. Life changed permanently. Now, I find myself trying to mentally prepare to do it again. I'm so excited to be there with some of this same tremendous group. I can't wait to see the JCC and the ACFFC. I am over the moon about seeing the kids again. In the distant road ahead in my mind, I'm worried about the return back to the United States again. More than anything though, I'm filled with intense gratitude. I'm thankful I made it there for H2H3. I'm thankful I was part of such a beautiful group. I'm thankful I'm in a position to go back. I'm thankful that so much fuel was added to the fire to change things. That's it. Just... Thank You.
We're honored to be able to share this video of the Jacmel Children's Center with you. Our Hope 2 Haiti campaign was a success because of you!
We hope you'll join us in celebrating the completion of the JCC and in remembering all the friendships we made in Haiti.
How To Keep Supporting H2H
If you like what you're hearing about Random Acts and their work in Haiti and you'd like to keep supporting, here are a few ways you can continue to help these causes!
The Art Creation Foundation for Children is currently fundraising for 10 of their youth to visit Toussaint Louverture High School for Arts and Social Justice in Delray Beach Florida. Needless to say, it would be an incredible, life-changing opportunity that would surely have ripples and ripples of positive after-effects for everyone involved. Their goal is $20,000 and they're currently at about 1/20th of that!
Random Acts' annual fundraising event, Endure 4 Kindness, is this November. I'll be biking for the event -- go here to donate or pledge per mile! To learn more about what Random Acts does outside of H2H, check out director Cinde Monsam's blog entry here. If you want to talk to me about Random Acts, shoot me an email at the address to your left! Random Acts is very close to my heart and I could babble on forever about it (:
You can also donate to the Jacmel Children's Center. While there are no official fundraising events currently going on, the JCC could still use the help! After going there and seeing the beautiful place myself and meeting the wonderful woman running it, I can guarantee that every dollar will be spent as thoughtfully and lovingly as possible. You can donate to the JCC here and check out this video about the JCC if you're in the mood to cry ;)
I leave you with this quote by Margaret Mead:
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Hope to Haiti and the children of Jacmel have been part of our lives for more than two years. The building of the Jacmel Children's Center has been a labor of love, but also a learning experience.
In the words of H2H3 volunteer, Rae, “I never understood hope until I came here. These kids have more hope than I’ve ever seen. . . I’ve learned so much from these kids.”
We couldn't have said it better, Rae. The children of Jacmel will always be a part of our hearts. They've taught us so much about love, hope, and life. They have been our inspiration, as have all of you. Your support made the Jacmel Children's Center a reality. Thank you!
Chimamanda's stories:
Ever since I found Chimamanda's TED Talk about the danger of only hearing single stories, I can't get it out of my head. It is such a poignant summary of exactly what I'm trying to overcome.
It's given me a great platform to work from and I'm starting to pull together a few of the more detailed parts of the project.
The 'stories' part of her talk has really stuck with me so I'm playing with the idea of pairing the Art Creation Foundation For Children (ACFFC) school in Haiti with a school of similar aged children in Australia. Each student from each school will be paired up with one from the other school. They will have to communicate regularly through various channels through which they must discuss not just the project but also each other's lives and experiences - essentially they must get to know each other.
The actual task/project that the students must undertake is to write a story together during and then later turn that story into any type of dramatic piece.
The details of these details still need to be worked out, but at the moment i'm feeling there are three key sections:
Communicating and getting to know each other
Writing a short story to bind together that communication
Transform the short story into a dramatic piece to say something about the experience and to be able to share it with others
I'm feeling very positive and energetic about this now that it's starting to come together more in my head and I'm hoping to nut out a few more details soon.
Hope to Haiti has been a part of our lives for more than two years. Whether you were a H2H volunteer or a Random Acts supporter, the children of Jacmel have touched our lives in a very real way. We'll never say goodbye, but the H2H Housewarming and the opening of the Jacmel Children's Center do mark the completion of the work we began in 2011.
We hope you'll visit our blog to read Director Cinde Monsam's overview of H2H: "When I stand on the JCC property, I don’t just see cement and steel and tile and fine workmanship. I see a safe haven, where children will receive food, medical services, schooling and love; I see a home."
What more can be said? We are truly honored to have been a part of this project and we thank all of you for your support. You took a dream and made it reality.